Bronx
Gin, sweet and dry vermouth and fresh orange juice, shaken. The Waldorf-Astoria's 1900s Martini-with-orange — once the third most famous cocktail in America, and still a good breakfast-hour gin drink.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the gin, both vermouths and the orange juice to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake for 10 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and express an orange peel over the top.
A thoughtful finish
- Fresh orange juice; the drink is a third juice and carton juice kills it.
- A blood orange in season makes a Bloody Bronx.
- Add a dash of Angostura and it is an Income Tax.
Common mistakes
- Carton orange juice.
- Old vermouth.
- Stirring; the juice wants a shake.
A few good questions.
What does a Bronx taste like?
Gin and orange with the vermouths' sweetness and herbs — soft, fruity and light for a gin cocktail.
Who invented it?
Johnnie Solon at the Waldorf-Astoria around 1906, by the hotel's own account; Philadelphia's Joseph Sormani is the rival claim.
Is it named for the borough?
For the Bronx Zoo, according to Solon.
Bronx or Income Tax?
The Income Tax is a Bronx with a dash of Angostura.
Variations
- Income Tax — A Bronx with Angostura.
- Abbey Cocktail — Gin, Lillet, orange juice and orange bitters.
- Perfect Martini — Gin with both vermouths.
- Orange Blossom — Gin and orange juice.
Where it comes from
c. 1906 · New York · Johnnie Solon · Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The Waldorf-Astoria’s own bar book credits the Bronx to Johnnie Solon, a bartender there around 1906, who built it on a dare to invent a new drink and named it for the zoo he had visited the day before — ‘after seeing the animals at the Bronx Zoo, I thought of the strange things people saw after a few drinks.’ A rival claim gives it to Joseph Sormani, a Philadelphia restaurateur, in 1905. Either way it was enormous: by the 1910s the Bronx ranked with the Martini and the Manhattan, and it survived Prohibition as a way to soften bathtub gin with juice. It fell from fashion with fresh-juice drinks generally and came back with them; shaken with real orange juice and fresh vermouths, it is a soft, fruity Perfect Martini that deserves its old reputation.
Sources
- Albert Stevens Crockett, The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, 1935 (book)
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
- Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 (book)
Strength. About 1.38 US standard drinks at an estimated 18.9% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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